CN116326190A

CN116326190A - Capacity boost based on airborne platform

Info

Publication number: CN116326190A
Application number: CN202080106423.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 许翔; J·维戈尔德; T-C·F·谢
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Priority date: 2020-10-21
Filing date: 2020-10-21
Publication date: 2023-06-23
Also published as: WO2022082541A1

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to apparatuses, methods, devices, and computer-readable storage media for on-board platform based capacity promotion. In an example embodiment, cluster information for a group of User Equipments (UEs) is obtained. An action to be performed is determined based on the cluster information. The actions include activating a new cell to serve the UE group via an on-board platform, adjusting a coverage area of an existing cell to serve the UE group via the on-board platform, or sending cluster information for the UE group to a neighboring device.

Description

Capacity boost based on airborne platform

Technical Field

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of communications and, in particular, relate to an apparatus, method, device, and computer-readable storage medium for airborne platform-based capacity promotion.

Background

High Altitude Platforms (HAPS) are a type of station that operates on a stratospheric airborne platform to provide a telecommunications infrastructure for rural and remote areas. HAPS can operate at altitudes ranging from 20km to 50km to cover service areas up to 80 ten thousand square kilometers in diameter of 1000 km. HAPS may be deployed on a balloon or solar altitude aircraft. Currently, HAPS-based architecture may be implemented on balloons to provide Long Term Evolution (LTE) coverage.

Research project (SI)/work project (WI) on non-terrestrial networks (NTN) relates to HAPS related problems in the third generation partnership project (3 GPP), which also covers Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and geostationary orbit (GEO) satellites. The HAPS related problems in question mainly relate to coexistence with terrestrial networks.

The 3GPP specifications define several alternative architectures for NTN and/or HAPS. For example, in transparent payload mode, the HAPS may act as an analog Radio Frequency (RF) repeater between a User Equipment (UE) and a New Radio (NR) NodeB (gNB). HAPS may alternatively be used as the gNB or at least a portion of the gNB. For example, in the case where the gNB is implemented in a distributed mode, a Distributed Unit (DU) of the gNB (gNB-DU) may be implemented by the HAPS. The Central Unit (CU) of the gNB (gNB-CU) may be deployed on the ground or implemented by another HAPS. HAPS can host multiple cells that can be activated or deactivated as needed.

Disclosure of Invention

In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide apparatus, methods, devices, and computer-readable storage media for capacity boosting based on an on-board platform.

In a first aspect, an apparatus is provided that includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: cluster information of the UE group is obtained. The device is further caused to determine an action to be performed based on the cluster information. The actions include activating a new cell to serve the UE group via an on-board platform, adjusting a coverage area of an existing cell to serve the UE group via the on-board platform, or sending cluster information for the UE group to a neighboring device.

In a second aspect, an apparatus is provided that includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: an indication is received from the further device to activate the new cell or to adjust the coverage area of the existing cell to serve the group of UEs via the on-board platform. The apparatus is also caused to activate a new cell or adjust a coverage area of an existing cell based on the received indication.

In a third aspect, a method is provided. In the method, cluster information of a UE group is obtained. An action to be performed is determined based on the cluster information. The actions include activating a new cell to serve the UE group via an on-board platform, adjusting a coverage area of an existing cell to serve the UE group via the on-board platform, or sending cluster information for the UE group to a neighboring device.

In a fourth aspect, a method is provided. In the method, an indication is received from a further device to activate a new cell or to adjust the coverage area of an existing cell to serve the group of UEs via the on-board platform. The new cell is activated or the coverage area of the existing cell is adjusted based on the received indication.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising means for performing the method according to the third or fourth aspect.

In a fourth aspect, a computer readable storage medium comprising program instructions stored thereon is provided. The instructions, when executed by a processor of a device, cause the device to perform a method according to the third or fourth aspect.

It should be understood that the summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the example embodiments of the disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description.

Drawings

Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 (a), 1 (b) and 1 (c) illustrate example scenarios of cell activation by HAPS;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

fig. 3 illustrates example cell activation in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of an example method according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of an example method according to some other example embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 6 (a), 6 (b), and 6 (c) illustrate example processes of cell activation and adjustment according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 7 illustrates signaling flows for cell update according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 8 illustrates signaling flows for cell update according to some other example embodiments of the present disclosure; and

fig. 9 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an apparatus suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure.

The same or similar reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like elements.

Detailed Description

Principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these example embodiments are described merely for the purpose of illustrating and helping those skilled in the art understand and practice the present disclosure and are not meant to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. The disclosure described herein may be implemented in various other ways besides those described below.

In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

As used herein, the term "on-board platform" refers to a platform that operates in the air and provides services to ground or on-board equipment. The airborne platform may typically operate in the stratosphere. The on-board platform may be based on HAPS, LEO and GEO satellites, as well as other on-board devices.

As used herein, the term "user equipment" (UE) refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication with each other or with a base station. Communication may involve the transmission and/or reception of wireless signals using electromagnetic signals, radio waves, infrared signals, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information over the air. In some example embodiments, the UE may be configured to send and/or receive information without direct human-machine interaction. For example, the UE may transmit information to the base station according to a predetermined schedule when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from the network side. Examples of UEs include, but are not limited to, smart phones, wireless enabled tablet computers, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), wireless client devices (CPE), sensors, metering devices, personal wearable devices such as watches, and/or vehicles capable of communication.

As used herein, the term "base station" refers to a network device capable of serving terminal devices or UEs in a communication network. A base station may comprise any suitable device via which a UE may access a communication network. Examples of base stations include relays, access Points (APs), transmission points (TRPs), node bs (nodebs or NB), evolved nodebs (eNodeB or eNB), new Radio (NR) nodebs (gNB), remote radio modules (RRU), radio Headers (RH), remote Radio Heads (RRH), low power nodes such as femto, pico, etc. For discussion purposes, some example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to a gNB as an example of a base station.

As used herein, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following:

(a) Pure hardware circuit implementations (such as implementations using only analog and/or digital circuitry), and

(b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (as applicable):

(i) Combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuit(s) and software/firmware, and

(ii) Any portion of the hardware processor(s) having software, including digital signal processor(s), software, and memory(s), which work together to cause a device, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions, and

(c) Hardware circuit(s) and/or processor(s), such as microprocessor(s) or portion of microprocessor(s), that require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but may not exist when operation is not required.

The definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also encompasses hardware-only circuitry or a processor (or multiple processors) or an implementation of a hardware circuit or portion of a processor and its accompanying software and/or firmware. For example, if applicable to the particular claim element, the term circuitry also encompasses a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, a cellular base station, or other computing or base station.

As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term "comprising" and variants thereof should be understood to mean open terms including, but not limited to. The term "based on" should be understood as "based at least in part on". The terms "one embodiment" and "an embodiment" should be understood as "at least one embodiment". The term "another embodiment" should be understood as "at least one other embodiment". Other definitions (explicit and implicit) may be included below.

As used herein, the terms "first," "second," and the like may be used herein to describe various elements, which should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes all combinations of any of the listed terms and one or more.

HAPS operating on an on-board platform provides a new telecommunications infrastructure for rural and remote areas. The HAPS may operate at an altitude of 20km to 50km to cover a service area up to 80 ten thousand square kilometers in diameter of 1000km, depending on the minimum elevation angle acceptable depending on the UE location. HAPS may be configured with multiple cells that may be activated when needed to provide additional capacity.

Fig. 1 (a), 1 (b) and 1 (c) illustrate example scenarios of cell activation by HAPS. In the scenario 100 shown in fig. 1 (a), the HAPS 105 hosts a number of cells 110-1 … … 110-N, where N represents any suitable positive integer greater than 2, and all cells 105-1 … … 105-N are activated. In scenario 115, only one cell 110-K (where K represents a positive integer and 1< =k < =n) is activated by HAPS 105. In scenario 120, a new cell 105-M (where M represents a positive integer different from K, and 1= < M < = N) is activated by HAPS 105.

Current LTE/NR systems allow for power saving. For example, in the case where a capacity booster cell is deployed to boost capacity to the basic coverage in the cell, the capacity booster cell may be disconnected when its capacity is no longer needed and may be re-activated as needed. In this way, additional capacity via single or dual connectivity can be provided in an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) or NR cell, while energy consumption can be optimized.

The next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) node having a capacity booster cell may autonomously decide to disconnect such a cell (to put it in an inactive state) to reduce power consumption. The decision may be made based on cell load according to the network configuration. The disconnect decision may also be made by an operation and maintenance (O & M) device instead of the NG-RAN node.

If it is decided to disconnect the capacity booster cell, the NG-RAN node may initiate a handover action to offload the UE of the capacity booster cell to the target node. For example, the NG-RAN node may further indicate to the target node the cause of the handover and an appropriate cause value to facilitate the target node to select the target cell. The NG-RAN node having the associated cell may inform the neighboring NG-RAN node of the disconnect action through the Xn interface. The notification may be implemented in a configuration update process. If a cell is inactive, the informed node may update a cell configuration, such as a neighbor relation configuration.

In case of a basic coverage ensured by a cell of an individual NG-RAN node, if there is a capacity demand for a capacity booster cell, the NG-RAN node having a non-capacity booster cell may request reactivation of the capacity booster cell from the neighboring node through an Xn interface. This may be achieved via a cell activation procedure. During the off period of the capacity booster cell, the NG-RAN node may prevent UEs in idle mode from camping on the cell and may prevent incoming handovers to the same cell. Thus, the NG-RAN node that received such a request may make an on decision. Alternatively, the turn-on decision may be made by the O & M device. Furthermore, the NG-RAN node that owns the relevant cell may inform all peer NG-RAN nodes of the reactivation of the cell by an indication on the Xn interface.

In contrast to terrestrial cellular networks with wired power sources, HAPS-based networks typically have limited energy. The HAPS that depletes energy may shorten the lifetime of the HAPS-based network. For example, if some HAPS are out of service due to lack of energy, the lack of energy-depleted HAPS may change network coverage or cause coverage holes. This will result in the network being self-organizing to maintain network connectivity, which may further exacerbate the loss of network energy. Thus, an energy efficient HAPS is advantageous to extend the lifetime of HAPS-based networks and avoid coverage holes.

Deactivation of cells that are less loaded or use less can save network energy. In LTE or NR, for example, deactivation is achieved by an evolved node B (eNB) or a gNB-CU based on the load of the cell. However, current power saving is based on the assumption that coverage to neighboring cells is fixed and preconfigured. The neighboring eNB or gNB determines the cell to activate based on the pre-planned/fixed coverage of the cell.

Note that HAPS is mobile and the coverage area of the HAPS cell can be adjusted. Conventional methods of cell activation based on pre-planned or fixed cell coverage may unnecessarily activate more HAPS cells and increase power consumption. A smaller number of cells need to be re-activated to meet capacity requirements, thereby saving the power consumption of HAPS.

Example embodiments of the present disclosure provide an energy saving scheme to activate or adjust cells provided via an on-board platform. The scheme collects cluster information of the UE to determine cells to activate or adjust based on the cluster information of the UE. The cluster information may include any suitable information capable of reflecting that groups of UEs are clustered together or adjacent to each other. If the cluster information of the UEs indicates that the groups of UEs are being clustered or are to be clustered together, the new cell may be activated via the on-board platform, or the coverage area of the existing cell may be adjusted via the on-board platform to provide services to the clustered UEs. In this way, more appropriate cells may be activated or tuned on the on-board platform to serve the clustered UE groups, thereby reducing the number of cells to be activated and saving network energy.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example environment 200 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented.

The environment 200 includes a device 205 operating on an on-board platform. Device 205 may be implemented by any suitable device in a non-terrestrial network such as HAPS, LEO satellites, GEO satellites, and the like. In some example embodiments, the device 205 may be used as a base station (e.g., a gNB) or as part of a base station. For example, where the base station is implemented in a distributed mode, the device 205 may function as a DU (e.g., a gNB-DU) for the base station. In the case where the base station is implemented in a centralized mode, the device 205 may function as an entire base station. The device 205 may also act as other devices such as a UE. For example, the device 205 may be an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node or relay node that relays traffic between UEs in its coverage area and ground stations or base stations on the ground.

As shown in fig. 2, the device 205 hosts a coverage area 210 and is configured with a plurality of cells 215-1, 215-2, 215-3, 215-4, 215-5 … … 215-L in the coverage area 210. L represents any suitable positive integer greater than 5. For discussion purposes, the cells 215-1 … … 215-L will be referred to collectively or individually as cells 215.

In the environment 200, a device 205 may serve multiple UEs 220-1, 220-2, 220-3, 220-4 … …, 220-H, which will be referred to collectively or individually as UEs 220, through a coverage area 210. H represents any suitable positive integer greater than 4.

It should be appreciated that the device 205 may provide any suitable number of cells 215. For example, less than five cells may be supported. It should also be appreciated that the devices 205 in the coverage area 210 may serve any suitable number of UEs 220. In some example embodiments, the UEs 220 located in the coverage area 210 may be less than 4.

The UEs 220 may communicate with the device 205, either directly or indirectly via the device 205 with each other. The communications in environment 200 may conform to any suitable communications standard or protocol that may already exist or be developed in the future, such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-advanced (LTE-a), fifth generation (5G) New Radio (NR), wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) standards, and employ any suitable communications technology including, for example, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), time Division Multiplexing (TDM), frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM), code Division Multiplexing (CDM), bluetooth, zigBee, machine Type Communications (MTC), enhanced mobile broadband (emmbb), large-scale machine type communications (mctc), ultra-reliable low latency communications (llc), carrier Aggregation (CA), dual Connectivity (DC), and new radio unlicensed (NR-U) technologies.

In various example embodiments of the present disclosure, the device 205 may obtain cluster information for the UE 220. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, four UEs 220-1, 220-2, and 220-4 are clustered adjacent to each other. Thus, the device 205 may obtain cluster information indicating that groups of UEs 220-1, 220-2, and 220-4 are clustered together. Based on the cluster information, the appropriate cell 215 may be selected to be activated or tuned to serve the set of UEs 220-1, 220-2, 220-3, and 220-4.

As shown in fig. 3, by adjusting the coverage area of cell 215-6, only cell 215-6 may be activated to serve UEs 220-1, 220-2, 220-3, and 220-4. In contrast to conventional approaches based on predefined or fixed cell coverage, as shown in fig. 2, where five cells 215-1, 215-2, 215-3, 215-4, and 215-5 may need to be activated, cell activation methods according to embodiments of the present disclosure may reduce the number of cells to be activated and thus reduce energy consumption in the network.

Fig. 4 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 400 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 400 may be implemented by the device 205 on an on-board platform. For discussion purposes, the method 400 will be described with reference to fig. 2.

At block 405, information is received from a plurality of UEs 220. The information may include any suitable information associated with the UE 220. For example, the device 205 may receive measurement reports from one or more UEs 220. The measurement report may include Downlink (DL) measurements of the UE 220 including, for example, positioning information, DL received power, or reference signal quality, etc. For example, the UE 220 may report the Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) of the stronger or strongest neighbor cell. Based on the measurement reports from the UEs 220, the UEs 220 may be located to find clustered UEs 220.

In some example embodiments, the device 205 may receive location information, such as Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data, global Positioning System (GPS) data, or longitude and/or latitude information, from one or more UEs 220. Based on the location information, the current location of the UE 220 may be determined to find out whether the UE groups 220 are being clustered together.

In some other example embodiments, the information from the UEs 220 may include mobility information of at least one UE 220, such as a speed or direction of movement. Thus, the future location of the UE 220 may be determined to find UEs 220 to cluster in the near future. Alternatively or additionally, information associated with the UE 220 may include angle of arrival (AoA), timing advance, and doppler shift information. The AoA may be related to the orientation of the UE 220, the timing advance may be related to the DL transmission distance, and the doppler shift may be related to the mobility mode of the UE 220. Thus, based on such information, it may be determined whether some UEs 220 are clustered.

Information associated with the UE 220 may be reported periodically by the UE 220. For example, the UE 220 may periodically send measurement reports to report such information. Alternatively or additionally, the UE 220 may send the associated information when needed. For example, the device 205 may initiate a process for collecting this information from the UE 220. In some example embodiments, the device 205 may request that one or more UEs 220 provide location information, such as current location data and mobility data. Based on such information, the area to which the UE 220 will soon move can be determined or predicted, and potential clusters of UEs 220 can be determined.

In some example embodiments, the device 205 may send a request to one or more UEs 220 to transmit an uplink signal, such as a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS). In response, the requested UE 220 may transmit the SRS. Thus, the device 205 may detect the SRS from the UE 220 and determine the received power of the SRS and the AoA. The AoA may be associated with the receive beam used. Based on the SRS received power and the AoA, the device 205 may determine whether some UEs 220 are clustered together. In some other embodiments, when the device 205 may support only a portion of the base stations, e.g., the device 205 hosts only the gNB-DUs and the network devices on the ground host the gNB-CUs, the request may be sent from the gNB-CUs to the device 205 and the device 205 forwards the request to the UE 220. When the device 205 receives this information from the UE 220, the device 205 forwards the information to the gNB-CU on the surface.

At block 410, a group of UEs (such as UEs 220-1, 220-2, 220-3, and 220-4) that are being clustered or are to be clustered is determined from the plurality of UEs 220 based on information associated with the plurality of UEs 220. At block 415, cluster information for a group of UEs is determined from information associated with the plurality of UEs. The cluster information may indicate that the UE group 220 is currently clustered or is to be clustered in the near future. In some example embodiments, the cluster information may indicate the region or cell in which the UE group 220 is clustered.

At block 420, cluster information for the UE group 220 is sent to a device of the network to further determine cells to activate or adjust. For example, in an example embodiment in which the device 205 is used as a DU of a base station, the device 205 may send cluster information to a further device, such as a CU of a base station operating on an on-board platform or on the ground, so that corresponding cell activation or adjustment decisions may be made at the further device. As an alternative example, in an example embodiment where the device 205 is used as an entire base station, the device 205 may send cluster information to another device, such as a Core Network (CN) device on the ground, to make the decision.

At block 425, an indication is received from the further device to activate the new cell or to adjust the coverage area of the existing cell to serve the UE group 220 via the on-board platform. Based on the received indication, the device 205 activates a new cell or adjusts the coverage area of an existing cell, at block 430.

It should be appreciated that in method 400, blocks 405, 410, 415, and 420 are optional. In some example embodiments, the device 205 may not collect and/or determine cluster information for the UE 220, while another device may do so. For example, in an example embodiment where the device 205 is used as a DU for a base station, the base station or CU for a ground network device such as a CN device or an O & M device gathers and/or determines cluster information for the UE 220 and instructs the device 205 to activate or modify cells for clustering the UE 220.

Alternatively, in an example embodiment in which the device 205 is used as an entire base station, the device 205 may utilize the cluster information to determine whether to activate a new cell or to adjust the coverage area of an existing cell to serve the UE group 220. If clustering of the UEs 220 occurs in or near the coverage area of the neighboring device, the device 205 may send the neighboring device cluster information for the UEs 220 to cause the neighboring device to make a decision whether to activate a new cell or to adjust the coverage area of an existing cell.

Fig. 5 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 500 according to some other example embodiments of the present disclosure. Where the device 205 is used as an entire base station, the method 500 may be implemented by the device 205. Alternatively, in an example embodiment where device 205 acts as a DU for a base station such as a gNB-DU, method 500 may be implemented by a CU for a base station such as a gNB-CU. The CU of the base station may operate on an on-board platform or on the ground. The method 500 may also be implemented by a network device on the ground. For discussion purposes, the method 500 will be described with reference to fig. 2.

At block 505, cluster information for the UE group 220 is obtained. The cluster information may indicate that the group of UEs 220, such as UEs 220-1, 220-2, and 220-4, are currently clustered or are to be clustered in the near future. The cluster information may be obtained in any suitable manner, e.g., from the UE 220, or from the gNB-DU, or from a neighboring base station. In an example embodiment where the method 500 is implemented by a CU of a base station and the device 205 is used as a DU of the base station as shown in fig. 2, the cluster information may be received from the device 205 or from the UE 220, as described above.

In some example embodiments, information associated with the UE 220 may be first collected and then utilized to determine cluster information for the UE 220. The collected information may include measurement reports, location information, mobility patterns, timing advance, doppler shift information, reference signal quality, and other information that may be used to determine clusters of UEs 220.

In some other example embodiments, the cluster information of the UE 220 may be received from a neighboring device that may operate on an on-board platform or the ground. For example, the neighboring device may collect information from UEs in its own coverage area to detect the occurrence of UE clustering and then provide the clustering information of the UEs.

Information collection and cluster information provision may be accomplished by neighboring devices at any suitable timing. For example, when a neighboring device is to activate cell 215, or when the neighboring device is to handover one or more UEs to device 205, the neighboring device may collect information associated with the UEs and provide cluster information for the UEs. Cell activation or handover may be determined by the neighboring device based on the capacity requirements or mobility of the UE within its own coverage area.

The cluster information may be transmitted by the neighboring device in a wired or wireless manner. For example, in an example embodiment where method 500 is implemented by a base station on the ground or a CU of base stations and the neighboring devices are implemented by ground base stations, the cluster information for the UEs may be sent via an interface, such as an Xn interface between the base stations. In an example embodiment in which one or both of the transmitter and receiver communicate over the air, the cluster information may be transmitted wirelessly.

Based on the cluster information, at block 510, an action to be performed to service a group of UEs, such as UEs 220-1, 220-2, 220-3, and 220-4, via the on-board platform is determined. The actions include activating a new cell or adjusting the coverage area of an existing cell. For example, if one or more cells are already serving a UE group and one of the cells is capable of meeting the capacity requirements of the UE group, it may be determined to adjust the coverage area of the cell to serve the UE group. The coverage area of a cell may be adjusted according to the size, shape, and/or location of the cell. For example, beam direction, beam shape, or antenna direction may be changed or adjusted for a cell.

If there are no cells associated with the group of UEs 220, it may be determined that a new cell is to be activated to serve those UEs 220. Alternatively, the new cell may be activated if the existing cell cannot meet the capacity or throughput requirements of the UE 220. In some example embodiments, the capacity or throughput requirements of the UE 220 may be compared to a threshold, which may be set based on available energy or other factors associated with the device 205 or related devices. If the capacity or throughput requirements are above the threshold, the new cell may be activated.

Alternatively or additionally, the actions to be performed may include sending cluster information of the UE group 220 to an on-board platform or neighboring devices on the ground to cause the neighboring devices to activate a new cell or adjust the coverage area of an existing cell to serve the UE group 220. For example, if it is determined that the UE group 220 is to be served by a neighboring device, the cluster information of the UE group 220 will be transmitted to the neighboring device.

If the capacity or throughput requirements of the UE group 220 cannot be met in the coverage area 210 of the device 205, a handover of the UE 220 may be performed. Alternatively or additionally, if it is determined that the UE group 220 is to move to the coverage area of the neighboring device based on the cluster information, the cluster information may be transmitted to the neighboring device so that the neighboring device may activate a new cell or adjust an existing cell to serve the UE group.

All of the operations and features described above with reference to fig. 1-4 are equally applicable to the method 500 and have similar effects. Details will be omitted for simplicity.

Fig. 6 (a), 6 (b), and 6 (c) illustrate example processes of cell activation and adjustment according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

In this example, the device 205 is configured with a macrocell 605 to provide a coverage area 210 such that all UEs 220 located in the coverage area 210 can perform random access. The cells 220 deployed in the coverage area 210 are small cells for providing additional capacity in the coverage area 210. The macro cell 605 and the cell 220 may use different bandwidth parts (BWP).

As shown in fig. 6 (a), at a point in time (e.g., 10: 00), only the macrocell 605 is activated. At this point in time, one or more small cells may also be activated. As shown in fig. 6 (b), at a later point in time (e.g., 10:10), the cell 215-6 is selectively activated based on the cluster information of the groups of UEs 220-1, 220-2, 220-3, and 220-4.

The cluster information of the UEs may be determined from information collected from the UEs 220 in the macrocell 605. For example, when the use of the macro cell 605 (such as radio resource usage) reaches a threshold, the device 205 may initiate a process of collecting information from the UEs 220 in the macro cell 605. The device 205 may collect measurement reports from the UE 220 that include location information and mobility information of the UE 220. Based on the measurement report, the potential area that the UE 220 will move in the near future (such as the next 10 minutes) may be determined.

In some example embodiments, the device 205 may request that all UEs 220 in the macrocell 605 transmit SRS in the same time period (such as the same slot). The received power of the SRS will be measured in each inactive cell 215 with a corresponding receive beam. The received power of many SRS in cell 215-6 is above a threshold and thus it can be determined that many UEs 220 in the coverage area of cell 215-6 that should be activated are clustered. The threshold may be set based on the amount of energy available to the device 205. For example, a higher threshold may be set for a lower energy level of the device 205 to balance capacity boosting and power saving.

As shown in FIG. 6 (c), at a later point in time (e.g., 10:20), the groups of UEs 220-1, 220-2, 220-3, and 220-4 are moving. Thus, the device 205 further adjusts the coverage area of the already activated cell 215-6 by considering updated cluster information for the groups of UEs 220-1, 220-2, 220-3 and 220-4. The coverage area of cell 215-6 may be adjusted by adjusting the antenna direction, beam width, and/or beam shape in cell 215-6.

Fig. 7 illustrates an example signaling flow 700 for cell update according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. In this example, the base station is implemented by a gNB operating in a distributed mode, and the device 205 is implemented by a gNB-DU 705. For discussion purposes, the signaling flow 700 will be described with reference to fig. 2 and 6 (a) through 6 (c).

As shown in fig. 7, the gNB-DU 705 activates 710 only the macrocell 605 to serve UEs 220-2 and 220-3 (labeled as UE1 and UE2, respectively). Alternatively, the gNB-DU 705 may have one or more cells 220 (such as small cells), which cells 220 are activated but not serving the UEs 220-2 and 220-3.

The device 205 sends 715 a request for UE reporting (e.g., SRS) to UE 220-2 and 720 to UE 220-3 in macrocell 605 to collect cluster information for UEs 220-2 and 220-3. Alternatively or additionally, the device 205 may request the UEs 220-2 and 220-3 to provide location information, such as the current location or mobility mode of the UE 220-2 or 220-3.

UE 220-2 sends (725) a report (e.g., SRS) to device 205, and UE 220-3 sends (730) a report (e.g., SRS) to device 205. Alternatively or additionally, the UEs 220-2 and 220-3 may send other information, such as location, mobility patterns, and the like.

The device 205 detects (735) clustered UEs based on information received from UEs (e.g., power of SRS in individual cells 220 using different receive beams) or based on the location and mobility patterns of UEs 220-2 and 220-3. The device 205 sends 740 an F1 application protocol (F1 AP) message to the gNB-CU 745 to provide cluster information for the UEs 220-2 and 220-3. The cluster information may be sent as part of the UE-related signaling of the related UEs 220-2 and 220-3 or transmitted as non-UE-related signaling of all UEs that have been detected as clustered UEs. The gNB-CU 745 may also receive cluster information for the UE 220 from an on-board platform or other devices on the ground, such as neighboring devices. The cluster information may include information received from the UE, and may also include an identity of the UE, a quality of service required for service of the UE, a geographical area in which the UE is clustered, and the like. In some embodiments, information from the UE may be received in a message that can only terminate at the gNB-CU. For example, the UE sends this information in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message that terminates only at the gNB-CU. The gNB-CU 745 may combine the cluster information received from the UEs 220-2 and 220-3, from the gNB-DU 705, and from the neighboring gNB-CUs. The gNB-CU 745 may make the final decision to cluster the UEs.

The gNB-CU 745 has two options to choose from. One option is to activate the new cell 215. As shown, the gNB-CU 745 determines (750) to activate the new cell. The gNB-CU 745 sends (755) an F1AP message to inform the device 205 to activate a cell to serve clustered UEs 220-2 and 220-3. For example, gNB-CU 745 may initiate an F1 CU configuration update procedure to activate cell 215 for clustering UEs 220-2 and 220-3. The F1AP message sent by gNB-CU 745 to device 205 may include all or a portion of the cluster information for UEs 220-2 and 220-3 and may also indicate the target coverage area to be served by new cell 215. Thus, the device 205 activates 760 the new cell 215 to serve the clustered UEs 220-2 and 220-3.

Another option for the gNB-CU 745 is to adjust the coverage area of the existing cell 215 if the device 205 has activated the cell 215 for UEs 220-2 and 220-3. As shown, gNB-CU 745 determines 765 to adjust the coverage area of existing cell 215 to serve clustered UEs 220-2 and 220-3. The gNB-CU 745 sends 770 an F1AP message informing of the adjustment of the coverage area of the existing cell 215. The gNB-CU 745 may include the cluster information for the UEs 220-2 and 220-3 in the F1AP message. The cluster information may indicate a target coverage area that the cell 215 to be tuned needs to serve. Thus, the device 205 adjusts (775) the coverage area of the existing cell 215, for example, by changing the beam direction and/or beam shape. If the UE currently served by the cell 215 to be tuned will be affected and can no longer connect to the cell 215, the gNB-CU 745 may hand over the UE to the macro cell 605 or another cell 215.

Fig. 8 illustrates an example signaling flow 800 for cell update according to some other example embodiments of the present disclosure.

In contrast to the signaling flow 700 shown in fig. 7, the signaling flow 800 involves adjacent gnbs 805. As shown in fig. 8, neighboring gNB 805 sends 810 an Xn message to provide cluster information for UEs 220-2 and 220-3 to gNB-CU 745. In an example embodiment, the gNB-CU 745 may make this determination considering at least one of the following: information from the gNB-DU 705, information from the UE, and information from neighboring gNBs.

Fig. 9 is a simplified block diagram of a device 800 suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown, the device 900 includes a processor 910, a memory 920 coupled to the processor 910, a communication module 930 coupled to the processor 910, and a communication interface (not shown) coupled to the communication module 930. Memory 920 stores at least program 940. The communication module 930 is used for bi-directional communication, for example, via multiple antennas. The communication interface may represent any interface required for communication.

The program 940 is assumed to include program instructions that, when executed by the associated processor 910, enable the device 900 to operate in accordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure, as discussed herein with reference to fig. 1-8. The example embodiments herein may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 910 of the device 900, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 910 may be configured to implement various example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Memory 920 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as non-transitory computer-readable storage media, semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory, as non-limiting examples. Although only one memory 920 is shown in device 900, there may be several physically distinct memory modules in device 900. The processor 910 may be of any type suitable to a local technical network and may include one or more of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 900 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock that is synchronized to the master processor.

When device 900 is acting as device 205, processor 910 and communication module 930 may cooperate to implement method 400 as described above with reference to fig. 2-4. When device 900 is acting as a base station or part of a base station (such as a CU of a base station) or a network device (such as a CN device or an O & M device), processor 910 and communication module 930 may cooperate to implement method 500 as described above with reference to fig. 5. All of the operations and features as described above with reference to fig. 2-8 are equally applicable to the device 900 and have similar effects. Details will be omitted for simplicity.

In general, the various example embodiments of the disclosure may be implemented using hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While various aspects of the example embodiments of the disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that these blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product comprises computer executable instructions, such as instructions included in a program module, that are executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the

method

400 or 500 as described above with reference to fig. 2-8. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired. Machine-executable instructions of program modules may be executed within local or distributed devices. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage media.

Program code for carrying out the methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus such that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, causes the functions/operations specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on the machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

In the context of this disclosure, computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable an apparatus, device or processor to perform the various processes and operations described above. Examples of the carrier include a signal, a computer-readable medium.

The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of a computer-readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Further, while operations are described in a particular order, this should not be construed as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Also, while several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular example embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate example embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple exemplary embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

Although the disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Various example embodiments of the technology have been described. In addition to or instead of the above, the following embodiments are described. The features described in any of the examples below may be used with any of the other examples described herein.

In some aspects, an apparatus comprises: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: acquiring cluster information of a UE group; and determining an action to be performed based on the cluster information, the action comprising: activating a new cell to serve a UE group via an on-board platform, adjusting a coverage area of an existing cell to serve the UE group via the on-board platform, or sending cluster information of the UE group to neighboring devices.

In some example embodiments, the device is caused to obtain cluster information for the group of UEs by: collecting information associated with a plurality of UEs; determining a UE group from the plurality of UEs based on information associated with the plurality of UEs; and determining cluster information of the UE group according to the information associated with the plurality of UEs.

In some example embodiments, the information associated with the plurality of UEs includes at least one of: a measurement report from at least one of the plurality of UEs, location information of the at least one of the plurality of UEs, mobility information of the at least one of the plurality of UEs, timing advance of the at least one of the plurality of UEs, doppler shift information of the at least one of the plurality of UEs, or reference signal quality from the at least one of the plurality of UEs.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus is further caused to obtain cluster information for the group of UEs by: cluster information for a group of UEs is received from at least one of a device operating on an on-board platform or a neighboring device.

In some example embodiments, the device is caused to determine an action to be performed by: the cluster information of the UE group is determined to be transmitted to the neighboring device based on the determination that the UE group is to be served by the neighboring device.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus is implemented at a central unit of the base station, and the apparatus is further caused to: an indication to activate the new cell or adjust the coverage area of the existing cell is sent to a distributed unit of a base station operating on an on-board platform based on a determination to activate the new cell or adjust the coverage area of the existing cell.

In some aspects, an apparatus comprises: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: receiving an indication from the further device to activate the new cell or to adjust the coverage area of the existing cell to serve the group of UEs via the on-board platform; and activating the new cell or adjusting the coverage area of the existing cell based on the received indication.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus is further caused to: receiving information associated with a plurality of UEs from the plurality of UEs; determining a UE group from the plurality of UEs based on information associated with the plurality of UEs; determining cluster information of the UE group according to information associated with the plurality of UEs; and transmitting cluster information of the UE group to another device.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus is further caused to: a request for information associated with at least one of the plurality of UEs is sent to the at least one of the plurality of UEs.

In some example embodiments, the received information associated with the plurality of UEs includes at least one of: a measurement report from at least one of the plurality of UEs, location information of the at least one of the plurality of UEs, mobility information of the at least one of the plurality of UEs, timing advance of the at least one of the plurality of UEs, doppler shift information of the at least one of the plurality of UEs, or reference signal quality from the at least one of the plurality of UEs.

In some example embodiments, the device is caused to adjust the coverage area associated with the existing cell by: at least one of an antenna direction, a beam width, or a beam shape associated with an existing cell is adjusted.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus is implemented at a distributed unit of a base station, the distributed unit operating on an on-board platform.

In some aspects, a method comprises: acquiring cluster information of a UE group; and determining an action to be performed based on the cluster information, the action comprising: activating a new cell to serve a UE group via an on-board platform, adjusting a coverage area of an existing cell to serve the UE group via the on-board platform, or sending cluster information of the UE group to neighboring devices.

In some example embodiments, obtaining cluster information for the UE group includes: collecting information associated with a plurality of UEs; determining a UE group from the plurality of UEs based on information associated with the plurality of UEs; and determining cluster information of the UE group according to the information associated with the plurality of UEs.

In some example embodiments, obtaining cluster information for the UE group further comprises: cluster information for a group of UEs is received from at least one of a device operating on an on-board platform or a neighboring device.

In some example embodiments, determining the action to be performed includes: the cluster information of the UE group is determined to be transmitted to the neighboring device based on the determination that the UE group is to be served by the neighboring device.

In some example embodiments, the method is implemented at a central unit of the base station, and the method further comprises: an indication to activate the new cell or adjust the coverage area of the existing cell is sent to a distributed unit of a base station operating on an on-board platform based on a determination to activate the new cell or adjust the coverage area of the existing cell.

In some aspects, a method comprises: receiving an indication from the further device to activate the new cell or to adjust the coverage area of the existing cell to serve the group of UEs via the on-board platform; and activating a new cell or adjusting the coverage area of an existing cell based on the received indication.

In some example embodiments, the method further comprises: receiving information associated with a plurality of UEs from the plurality of UEs; determining a UE group from the plurality of UEs based on information associated with the plurality of UEs; determining cluster information of a UE group according to information associated with a plurality of UEs; and transmitting cluster information of the UE group to another device.

In some example embodiments, the method further comprises: a request for information associated with at least one of the plurality of UEs is sent to the at least one of the plurality of UEs.

In some example embodiments, wherein adjusting the coverage area of the existing cell comprises: at least one of an antenna direction, a beam width, or a beam shape associated with an existing cell is adjusted.

In some example embodiments, the method is implemented at a distributed unit of the base station, the distributed unit operating on an on-board platform, and the further apparatus comprises a central unit of the base station.

In some aspects, an apparatus comprises: means for obtaining cluster information for a group of UEs; and means for determining an action to be performed based on the cluster information, the action comprising: activating a new cell to serve a UE group via an on-board platform, adjusting a coverage area of an existing cell to serve the UE group via the on-board platform, or sending cluster information of the UE group to neighboring devices.

In some example embodiments, the means for obtaining cluster information for the UE group comprises: means for collecting information associated with a plurality of UEs; means for determining a group of UEs from the plurality of UEs based on information associated with the plurality of UEs; and means for determining cluster information for the group of UEs based on the information associated with the plurality of UEs.

In some example embodiments, the means for obtaining cluster information for the UE group further comprises: means for receiving cluster information for a group of UEs from at least one of a device operating on an on-board platform or a neighboring device.

In some example embodiments, the means for determining the action to be performed comprises: means for determining cluster information for the group of UEs to send to the neighboring device based on a determination that the group of UEs is to be served by the neighboring device.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus is implemented at a central unit of a base station, and the apparatus further comprises: means for sending an indication of activation of the new cell or adjustment of the coverage area of the existing cell to a distributed unit of a base station operating on an on-board platform in accordance with a determination to activate the new cell or adjustment of the coverage area of the existing cell.

In some aspects, an apparatus comprises: means for receiving an indication from the further device to activate a new cell or to adjust the coverage area of an existing cell to serve the group of UEs via the on-board platform; and means for activating the new cell or adjusting the coverage area of the existing cell based on the received indication.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for receiving information associated with a plurality of UEs from the plurality of UEs; means for determining a group of UEs from the plurality of UEs based on information associated with the plurality of UEs; means for determining cluster information for a group of UEs from information associated with a plurality of UEs; and means for transmitting cluster information of the UE group to the further device.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for sending a request to at least one of the plurality of UEs for information associated with the at least one of the plurality of UEs.

In some example embodiments, wherein the means for adjusting the coverage area of the existing cell comprises: means for adjusting at least one of an antenna direction, a beam width, or a beam shape associated with an existing cell.

In some aspects, a computer-readable storage medium includes program instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor of a device, cause the device to perform a method according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:

obtaining cluster information of a User Equipment (UE) group; and

based on the cluster information, determining an action to be performed, the action comprising:

the new cell is activated to serve the UE group via the on-board platform,

adjusting the coverage area of an existing cell to serve the UE group via the on-board platform, or

And sending the clustering information of the UE group to adjacent equipment.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is caused to obtain the cluster information for the group of UEs by:

collecting information associated with a plurality of UEs;

determining the set of UEs from the plurality of UEs based on the information associated with the plurality of UEs; and

the cluster information of the UE group is determined from the information associated with the plurality of UEs.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the information associated with the plurality of UEs comprises at least one of:

measurement reports from at least one UE of the plurality of UEs,

location information of at least one UE of the plurality of UEs,

Mobility information of at least one UE of the plurality of UEs,

the timing advance of at least one UE of the plurality of UEs,

doppler shift information of at least one UE of the plurality of UEs, or

Reference signal quality from at least one UE of the plurality of UEs.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is further caused to obtain the cluster information for the group of UEs by:

the cluster information of the UE group is received from at least one of a device operating on the on-board platform, or a neighboring device.

5. The apparatus of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the apparatus is caused to determine the action to be performed by:

determining that the cluster information of the UE group is to be sent to the adjacent device according to the determination that the UE group is to be served by the adjacent device.

6. The apparatus of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the apparatus is implemented at a central unit of a base station, and the apparatus is further caused to:

an indication of activation of the new cell or adjustment of the coverage area of the existing cell is sent to a distributed unit of the base station operating on the on-board platform based on a determination to activate the new cell or adjustment of the coverage area of the existing cell.

7. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

receiving an indication from the further device to activate the new cell or to adjust the coverage area of the existing cell to serve the group of user equipments, UEs, via the on-board platform; and

based on the received indication, the new cell is activated or the coverage area of the existing cell is adjusted.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the apparatus is further caused to:

receiving information associated with a plurality of user equipments, UEs, from the plurality of UEs;

determining the set of UEs from the plurality of UEs based on the information associated with the plurality of UEs;

determining cluster information of the UE group according to the information associated with the plurality of UEs; and

and sending the clustering information of the UE group to the other equipment.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the apparatus is further caused to:

a request for information associated with at least one of the plurality of UEs is sent to the at least one of the plurality of UEs.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 or 9, wherein the received information associated with the plurality of UEs comprises at least one of:

measurement reports from at least one UE of the plurality of UEs,

location information of at least one UE of the plurality of UEs,

mobility information of at least one UE of the plurality of UEs,

the timing advance of at least one UE of the plurality of UEs,

doppler shift information of at least one UE of the plurality of UEs, or

Reference signal quality from at least one UE of the plurality of UEs.

11. The apparatus of any of claims 7 to 10, wherein the apparatus is caused to adjust the coverage area of the existing cell by:

adjusting at least one of the following associated with the existing cell: antenna direction, beam width or beam shape.

12. The apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein

The apparatus is implemented at a distributed unit of a base station, the distributed unit operating on the on-board platform.

13. A method, comprising:

obtaining cluster information of a User Equipment (UE) group; and

determining an action to be performed based on the cluster information, the action comprising:

The new cell is activated to serve the UE group via the on-board platform,

And sending the clustering information of the UE group to adjacent equipment.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein obtaining the cluster information for the group of UEs comprises:

collecting information associated with a plurality of UEs;

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the information associated with the plurality of UEs comprises at least one of:

measurement reports from at least one UE of the plurality of UEs,

location information of at least one UE of the plurality of UEs,

mobility information of at least one UE of the plurality of UEs,

the timing advance of at least one UE of the plurality of UEs,

doppler shift information of at least one UE of the plurality of UEs, or

Reference signal quality from at least one UE of the plurality of UEs.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein obtaining the cluster information for the group of UEs further comprises:

The cluster information for the group of UEs is received from at least one of a device operating on the on-board platform or a neighboring device.

17. The method of any of claims 13-16, wherein determining the action to be performed comprises:

18. The method according to any of claims 13 to 17, wherein the method is implemented at a central unit of a base station, and the method further comprises:

19. A method, comprising:

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

determining the cluster information of the UE group according to the information associated with the plurality of UEs; and

and sending the clustering information of the UE group to the other equipment.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

22. The method of claim 20 or 21, wherein the received information associated with the plurality of UEs comprises at least one of:

measurement reports from at least one UE of the plurality of UEs,

location information of at least one UE of the plurality of UEs,

mobility information of at least one UE of the plurality of UEs,

the timing advance of at least one UE of the plurality of UEs,

doppler shift information of at least one UE of the plurality of UEs, or

Reference signal quality from at least one UE of the plurality of UEs.

23. The method of any of claims 19-22, wherein adjusting the coverage area of the existing cell comprises:

24. The method of any one of claims 19 to 23, wherein

The method is implemented at a distributed unit of a base station, the distributed unit operating on the airborne platform.

25. An apparatus, comprising:

means for obtaining cluster information for a group of user equipments, UEs; and

means for determining an action to be performed based on the cluster information, the action comprising:

the new cell is activated to serve the UE group via the on-board platform,

And sending the clustering information of the UE group to adjacent equipment.

26. An apparatus, comprising:

means for receiving an indication from the further device to activate a new cell or to adjust the coverage area of an existing cell to serve the group of user equipments, UEs, via the on-board platform; and

means for activating the new cell or adjusting the coverage area of the existing cell based on the received indication.

27. A computer readable storage medium comprising program instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a processor of a device, cause the device to perform the method of any of claims 13 to 18.

28. A computer readable storage medium comprising program instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a processor of a device, cause the device to perform the method of any of claims 19 to 24.